Philadelphia, PA – Jrue Holiday had 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the Philadelphia 76ers' 101-100 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Damian Lillard nailed a 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left to pull Portland within a point and Thaddeus Young threw the ball away on the ensuing inbounds after Holiday fell down. But LaMarcus Aldridge's fadeaway in the paint was well defended by Spencer Hawes and the Sixers escaped with the victory.
"We always keep fighting and we always put ourselves in position to win, and tonight we did it again. I just didn't make the shot," Aldridge said of the shot.
Hawes added 18 points and 13 rebounds for Philly, which found out earlier Monday that center Andrew Bynum would undergo season-ending knee surgery on both knees.
"It's sad," Sixers head coach Doug Collins said of Bynum. "It's been a tough year for our franchise, it's been a tough year for Andrew."
Bynum, who becomes a free agent in the offseason, will have loose bodies cleaned out from within the knees in order to alleviate pain and swelling that has persisted since he underwent a radical yet non-surgical procedure called Orthokine therapy in the offseason.
The 25-year-old Bynum had several setbacks in his recovery and will not play for a Sixers club that traded away several key players in order to make him the centerpiece of the franchise despite his history of knee problems.
Aldridge finished with 32 points and 14 rebounds, while Lillard chipped in 27 points, seven boards and seven helpers for the Blazers, who have dropped 13 of their last 15 contests on the road.
Aldridge's layup gave the Blazers a 92-89 lead with 4:09 left before the Sixers countered with an 8-0 spurt. Damien Wilkins, Holiday, Hawes and Young all hit jumpers to propel Philly to a 97-92 advantage with 1:06 to play.
After Lillard and Holiday exchanged baskets, Aldridge nailed a triple to pull Portland within 99-97 with 17.9 ticks on the clock before Holiday sunk two foul shots.
Earlier, the Sixers lead 32-28 after a quarter of play and 58-50 heading into the break. They took a 78-72 cushion into the final frame.
Game Notes
Monday was the start of a five-game road trip for Portland ... Bynum missed only six games in a shortened campaign last season that saw him average career highs of 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds ... The Blazers netted 26 points off 14 Philly turnovers.
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